1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of devices which protect an athlete's teeth while the athlete is engaged in a sporting activity such as playing football.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, there are many devices known in the prior art which are used to protect an athlete or a person while the athlete or person is engaged in a sporting activity. In one sporting activity such as football, the person engaged in playing football wears many protective devices to protect various body parts of the person such as shoulder pads, leg guards, and a helmet which has bars in front to protect the person's face during physical contact while playing football.
One of the most sensitive parts of a person's body are the person's teeth. There frequently are violent collisions between persons engaged in the game of football, such as a running back being tackled by a defensive player or a wide receiver being hit by a defensive player. During these collisions, it is very easy for one or more teeth to be knocked out or otherwise damaged such as being chipped or cracked. To help protect teeth and reduce the occurrence of damage to teeth, devices such as mouth guards have been developed. In the prior art, one type of mouth guard is a dental tray which is conformed to the shaped of a person's upper teeth and is worn in the mouth to protect the upper teeth. The mouth guard rests against the person's lower teeth to also protect the person's lower teeth. Many mouth guards are separate pieces which are taken out of the person's mouth after a play is run and either carried in the person's hand or pressed into a portion of the helmet worn by the person and is then reinserted into the mouth immediately prior to the beginning of the next play. One problem with a hand held mouth guard is that holding it in the person's hand or retaining it on the person's helmet leads to many germs coming in contact with the mouth guard which is then placed into a person's mouth where the germs come in direct contact with the person's teeth ands gums and can create an infection and disease in the person.
To avoid the above problem, mouth guards have been designed which are attached to a strap. The strap is attached to the mouth guard at one end and attached to a bar of the football helmet at the other end. This design eliminates the problem of having to carry the mouth guard in the person's hand or squeezing it into a portion of the helmet because the person does not have to carry the mouth guard after a play and the mouth guard hangs down from the strap. However, while solving one problem, this strap design presents a possibly even greater problem. During the violent collisions which occur when football is played, a person's helmet can be knocked off. With the strap attached to a bar of the helmet and to the mouth guard, when the helmet is knocked off the person's head, the strap and mouth guard are forced to travel with the helmet. Since the mouth guard is carried in the person's mouth during this activity, there is a significant risk that when the mouth guard and strap go flying with the football helmet, the person's teeth can be severely damaged or knocked out.
Therefore, there is a significant need for a mouth guard which protects a person's teeth and eliminates the problem of having to carry the mouth guard in the person's hand between football plays and at the same time reduces the problem associated with a mouth guard attached to a strap and a football helmet where a person's teeth can be knocked out if the helmet goes flying off the person's head during a collision.